The Bodyguard
by star-chan89
Summary: AU: Sanosuke ecomes Megumi's bodyguard which leads to an interesting journey for both of them as they try to figure out their relationship while also trying to keep Megumi out of Kanryuu's grasp. -EXTENDED-more info on profile-
1. Chapter 1

Ch.1

Megumi law awake in the dark, shivering. The curtains were drawn, the lights were off, her hands tightly clutched the blankets to her chest, and the phone continued to ring. It had begun to ring incessantly, but she was too afraid to answer the phone, too afraid of who might be on the other end when she answered.

Beep.

"Megumi," she relaxed slightly. "It's Kaoru, please answer the phone…I know you're home…we're worried about you…(sigh)…if you need anything, call me."

Click.

_She wasn't exactly sure when her life had begun to spin so out of control. It had started right after her parents died, although that wasn't exactly the moment either. Her parents, both doctors, had been ahead of their time. The way they looked at each other, even as a kid, she could feel their love enveloping her. She had wanted to feel that kind of love, too……and she had. She had fallen hard for him. No one had ever paid much attention to her before; maybe it was because her parents intimidated them, or maybe it was because she intimidated them. But he never seemed to be intimidated around her, and for the first time, she felt normal. They would walk down the streets of her neighborhood holding hands, and on those rare occasions when he smiled at her, she could feel her heart melt. When her parents died and he asked her to move in with him, she accepted immediately, and had run away from her aunt and uncle._

_That was when things took a turn for the worst. The arguing, the fighting, although you could barely consider it fighting, it was mostly him hitting and her crying. Now that she thought about it…maybe abuse would have been a better word for it. Eventually she had decided to run away. _

_She had gone off to medical school and graduated at the top of her class. Finally, she thought, this is it. This was her chance to follow in her parents footsteps. Her professors had praised her for her brilliance, and with her accelerated courses, she had finished school early._

_That was when the phone calls started. He was sorry that he had hurt her and he wanted her back. Oh, how he would do anything to have her back in his life. And against her better judgment, she had gone back to him. _

_But, to tell the truth, all of her problems really started with just one question._

"_Megumi, do you love me?" he had asked her one night._

"_Well of course, I..."_

_He had cut her off with a smile, but not the dazzling smile that made her heart flutter, this one had a more sinister undertone._

"_Then you won't mind doing me a favor…"_

_That was how it had all begun…when had he become a drug dealer?_

Beep.

_Was it while she was getting through college?_

"We're coming for you, Megumi…we know where you live."

Click.

_He had used her again and again. Had her lure the men to him, and she had agreed, although by that time it was more because of fear than love. He took everything from her, continued to use her until she passed her breaking point and decided to turn to the police. They had offered her a proposition; if she testified against him, they would drop the charges._

_Everything had seemed so simple at the time, and she had felt so free knowing that he was locked in jail. That is until the phone calls started and she began to find threatening letters at her door._

Megumi's heart started to race as she heard a lock click in the living room. She could hear the door opening slowly…

_When had her hearing become so good?_

She pulled the blankets over her head, as if that simple act would protect her from the incoming threat.

"Megumi-sensei?"

She quickly removed the covers and jumped out of bed. Trying to make herself presentable, she walked out into her small living room to greet her guests. "Kaoru…Kenshin….What are you guys doing here?" she asked, nervously tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I told you… we were worried about you. Why haven't you been answering my phone calls?" Kaoru said, while studying her face for something...answers, maybe.

Megumi's face fell and she collapsed onto the couch sobbing. "I thought you might have been someone else…" she choked, her voice quivered on the last two words.

"Who? What's going on Megumi?" Kaoru demanded. _When had Kaoru gotten so serious?_

"Kanryuu's henchmen, they've been threatening me," she finally answered.

"That sounds serious," Kenshin said, his eyes dark with contemplation.

Finally, when no one seemed to want to say anything else, Kaoru started the conversation again. "Kenshin, maybe we should tell the police. There has to be something they can do to protect her," she said briskly to her fiancé.

Megumi shook her head. "Going to the police might just make them angrier. And what if the police don't help me, then what will I do? I'll be even worse off than before," she argued.

"Megumi, I'm sure they'll do something. Besides Aoshi is the police chief, he'll help you out," Kaoru spoke confidently trying to comfort her friend.

It took a while to finally convince her, but they were headed over to the police station before the night was over. They went straight for the Captain's office; Kenshin and Kaoru were known around there and no one stood in their way. They stepped inside, and Misao Makimachi, junior officer and secretary, looked up at them.

"May we have a word with Shinomori-san, Misao-dono?" Kenshin asked, politely.

"Of course, I'll tell him you're in to see him," she said cheerfully, and walked into his office without bothering to knock. After a minute she poked her head out the door. "He's ready to see you now."

"What do you need?" Aoshi asked as soon as they entered his office, without looking up from his paperwork.

"Aoshi, Megumi needs protection," Kaoru said, getting straight to the point. "Kanryuu's thugs are threatening her, she can't even answer her phone..." She looked at Kenshin for support.

"Kaoru," Aoshi cut her off, coolly, without bothering to hear what Kenshin might have to say. "I don't think that we'll be able to assign a police officer to watch her day and night."

"What?" Kaoru asked, standing up, the rage apparent on her face.

"But I do know someone who might be able to do the job..." he continued.

"Oh," she said. She relaxed back onto her chair. "Who?"

"Hold on a second, Kaoru," he said. Aoshi sounded as if he might have chuckled if that had been his thing. "I'm calling him as we speak."

"Hello, Sagara," Aoshi said, and caught Kenshin's look of surprise although it seemed as if neither of the women noticed. "Could you do me a favor?...I need you to protect a friend a mine...of course I'll pay you, idiot." Aoshi nodded as he hung up the phone and turned to his friends sitting in front of him. "He'll be here in twenty minutes, but for now, we wait."

Megumi winced. _I hope Aoshi was just kidding when he called him an idiot..._

A/N: Thanks a lot to my beta-reader Starry Night Blue. Don't forget to review...I worked really hard on this, and it's my first Sano/Meg fic so don't be to harsh...


	2. An Interesting Meeting

A/N: In case it's confusing the italics represent thoughts...

Disclaimer: Forgot to put this in the last chapter...Don't Own It

**Chapter 2: An Interesting Meeting...**

Sanosuke Sagara raked a hand through his hair and grinned.

_It has been a while since my last job, and knowing Aoshi, if I do a good job this time I'll be getting paid quite well at the end of this. Hell, maybe Aoshi will consider calling on me again._

Sanosuke paused in the middle of the sidewalk.

_Why had Aoshi called on me in the fist place?_

A stranger pushed past him, glaring. He started walking again.

_We aren't good friends, or even friends, at that...and Aoshi is a calculating kind of man. He has obviously picked me for some ulterior reason, but what?_

He finally reached the police station and made his way up the stairs into the police building. He was quite surprised to find Misao standing at the front door, waiting for him, and tapping her foot impatiently against the floor.

"Where have you been?" she demanded, trying to look stern.

"Walking around," he replied. He grinned. "Where's Aoshi?"

"In his office," she answered, smiling back. "I'll take you to him." She beckoned him forward and then led him to a door at the end of a hallway. She went inside and he went in after her. She gestured at a second door in there. "He's been waiting for you for a while...so he might be a little annoyed...good luck!" She then walked back to her desk, leaving Sanosuke standing in front of the door.

He looked at her for a moment, then turned towards the door.

_I guess I should go in._

As he turned the knob and stepped inside the door, everyone in the room turned to face him.

_Well, this is awkward._

_-_

Megumi turned to face the man that had just walked in the door. Standing in the doorway was a tall, lanky man, who was looking around awkwardly. He was wearing a crisp white t-shirt that showed off his muscles, and an old-looking pair of jeans. As he ran a hand through his thick, unruly, brown hair, she couldn't help but notice its peculiar shape.

_You have got to be kidding me. He looks like...like...a rooster._

She watched as the man turned towards Kenshin and said, "Kenshin, long time no see."

Kenshin stood up to shake his hand. "Hello, Sano," he replied, cheerfully. "It is nice to see you as well."

_How does he know Kenshin?_

"And this must be Kaoru," he said, turning around to face Kaoru. "Kenshin has told me a lot about you." To which Kaoru raised her eyebrow inquisitively to Kenshin. He finally turned towards Megumi and said, "Oi, who's the fox?"

Megumi's mouth dropped open, and a light blush settled on her cheeks. "Excuse me?" she said, trying to look indignant.

The man named Sano chuckled. "That's not a very attractive look, fox," he told her.

Megumi seemed to be in shock, so Aoshi took the moment to interject. "Sagara Sanosuke, this is Takani Megumi," he said, gesturing at her. "Megumi, this is Sanosuke. He will be your bodyguard in the upcoming weeks."

Megumi sank down in her chair and put her face between her hands. "You have got to be kidding me," she groaned.

"What was that?" Sano asked, peering down at her.

She looked up at him sweetly. "I was just wondering..." she said slowly, and looked around the room at her friends before finally focusing on Aoshi and raising her voice. "How this...this...rooster-head is supposed to protect me from Kanryuu and his thugs."

She stood up and faced Sanosuke full for the first time. Actually, she had to admit that he did look kind of strong, and normally, she would have been intimidated, but her anger had made her quite bold at that moment.

"What did you just call me?" Sano demanded, feeling furious. _The nerve of that woman!_ Here he is, offering to protect her, and she insults him.

"I called you a rooster-head," she replied, still smiling.

"Megumi!"

"Megumi-sensei!"

Kenshin and Kaoru turned to look at each other, having noticed the peculiar timing of their outbursts. Kaoru finally began again. "Maybe we should split up and talk this over for a while," she suggested.

Aoshi looked from Sanosuke to Megumi to Kaoru, and then finally to Kenshin. "Good idea, Kaoru," he agreed. "Kenshin, you take Sanosuke to the questioning room...Misao knows where it is. Kaoru and Megumi, you can stay in my office. As for me...I'm going to get some Tylenol."

Megumi waited for Aoshi and the others to leave the room before turning around to frown at Kaoru. "Do you really expect me to believe that he is going to be able to protect me? He looks ridiculous," she said irritably.

"Oh, come on, Megumi! Kenshin and Aoshi obviously trust him, so why can't you? I mean, what else are you going to do? Hide in your bed with your head under the covers?" she said, and Megumi's eyes widened. Kaoru smiled. "Yes, I do know what you were doing when Kenshin and I came over to your house earlier today."

Megumi blushed, and her mouth closed and opened a few times as she tried to come up with a comeback. She finally pursed her lips to a thin line and looked away.

Kaoru sighed. "Megumi..." she began, standing up and walking over to stand behind her friend, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Give Sanosuke a chance...besides it's better than being alone, right?"

Megumi looked up at Kaoru and finally answered, "We'll see...they do say that looks can be deceiving..."

-

Sanosuke barged intothe questioning room with Kenshin close at his heels. Once they were both inside and the door was closed, he spun around to face Kenshin. "Can you believe that woman? I am about to risk my life to protect her from the most notorious drug dealers to ever exist, and she insults me!" he exploded.

"Sano, calm down, listen," Kenshin said, pulling out a chair for Sanosuke to sit on. The seriousness of his tone surprised Sano, and he decided it was probably best to listen to what he had to say. "Megumi-Sensei has been under a lot of stress lately...I'm sure that this is all a by-product of all of the problems she has had recently."

"I hope so, because I don't think I can deal with her like this for too much longer," he muttered. Sanosuke then began to grin again as he said, "So...are you and Kaoru married now, or are you just sleeping together?"

Kenshin looked as if he might faint, and his face had turned a shade redder than his hair. Sanosuke burst out laughing at his friend's discomfort. When he had finally calmed down enough to talk again he said, "Just kidding. Maybe we should go see how the girls are coming along..."

**A few moments later...**

Aoshi looked towards both parties and felt relieve. "I'm glad you were all finally able to handle this situation like adults. So it's settled then; Sanosuke, you will be in charge of protecting Megumi until further notice. I need you to sign here, here, and here," he said, pointing to various blanks on a police document. After Sanosuke had finished filling out the form, he turned it towards Megumi and said, "And Megumi, I need you to sign here and here."

Sanosuke cleared his throat several times until everyone in the room was looking at him. "So...where am I going to be staying?" he asked casually.

"Megumi has an extra bedroom in her apartment!" Kaoru blurted out. She immediately was able to feel the death ray being directed at her from Megumi's eyes. "What?...you've been looking for a roommate, right?"

Aoshi, ignoring the look that Megumi was giving Kaoru, said, "Thanks for the information, Kaoru..."

"Yes," Megumi interrupted. "Thanks for the information, Kaoru." She then stood up and walked out of the room.

There was a stunned silence in the room, which Sanosuke broke, saying, "I should go after her, shouldn't I?"

Kaoru shook her head frantically, but it seemed that he either didn't see her, or he took that for a yes, because he jumped up out of his chair and ran out of the office after her.

-

Sanosuke stepped out onto the street in front of the police station and scanned the sidewalks on either side until he spotted her walking quickly away from him.

"Hey, fox, wait up!" he yelled down the street as he started running to catch up with her.

Megumi stopped, turned around and yelled back at him, "If you think that I am actually going to let you live in my apartment with me, you are out of your mind."

She then turned back around and started walking even faster, almost running now. Sanosuke followed her down the streets as she cut around buildings and through alleyways.

"It's really dangerous to walk down empty streets at night alone, you know," he called out to her, but she didn't respond to him. He then followed her through an apartment complex, and although she had tried diligently to lose him, he finally found her standing in front of one of the doors shaking. "Megumi?"

She looked at him, and it was obvious that something had upset her.

"What is it?"

She didn't answer him, instead, she handed him an envelope. He opened it and pulled out a small piece of paper, looking it over.

_A death threat..._

He put an arm around her, and was a little surprised when she didn't push him away, instead pressing her face into his chest.

_What do you say when you're in this kind of situation?_

"Megumi...I'm here to protect you," he finally whispered in her ear.

"I know..."

A/N: Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, and no this fic has nothing to do with the movie, although I thought of that too. And once again thanks to my beta-reader, don't know what I would do without you. Don't forget to review.


	3. Just Another Day

**Chapter 3:**** Just another day…**

Sunlight shone into the apartment through a small window, illuminating the two figures sleeping on the couch. Sanosuke snored softly at the far end, his head leaning back at an odd angle, and his arm rested on the back of the small couch. Megumi lay with her head resting on his knee, her legs tucked underneath her. She shifted repeatedly, trying to get comfortable, which apparently did not bother the fighter-for-hire very much, if at all.

Megumi woke up to find her cheek pressed against something hard covered in a rough fabric.

_I hope I haven't fallen out of the bed again..._

Despite her discomfort, she couldn't seem to move. It as if something was holding her down to the spot.

_Then again, maybe I'm just so tired, I don't want to get up. But...I have work today, so I'm going to have to get up sometime._

She willed her eyes to open, but just like all of her other limbs, they disobeyed her.

_I don't think I've ever been this tired before..._

She struggled to wake up from the grasp that sleep had on her, wriggling, until suddenly she found herself falling, and then just as quickly she was on the cold hard floor. She scanned the room, and slowly realized that she wasn't in her bedroom at all; she was actually in her living room.

_Now why would I fall asleep in here...?_

She glanced back up at the couch to find none other than

"Sanosuke," she hissed.

She glared at him, but apparently her anger couldn't reach him in his dreams. He remained blissfully unaware; in fact he looked downright comfortable sleeping there on her couch.

She slowly stood up and stretched out, feeling all of her muscles cramping up from the awkward position she had slept in during the night.

_No wonder I'm so tired...how could I get any sleep sleeping on that tiny couch._

Then came the big question...

_Why was I sleeping on the couch at all?_

She slumped down on the couch, next to the sleeping "bodyguard", and pondered over the matter. She could remember the letter incident at the door, but after that she could only draw a blank.

_What had happened...What had happened?_

She glanced at the time flashing on her microwave. Realizing that she was late for work, twenty-three minutes late to be exact, she quickly pushed the whole matter to the back of her mind and rushed into the bathroom, momentarily forgetting about the man sleeping on her couch.

The next ten minutes were spent in a flurry of activity as Megumi brushed her teeth, took a shower, did her hair, and slipped on a fitted black dress. She finalized her look, putting on her trademark red lipstick, and running her hands through her hair once more, feeling a sense of accomplishment at what she had been able to do in such a short amount of time.

She grabbed her keys off of her kitchen counter and briskly headed in a bee-line towards the front door. As she touched the door knob she realized that she had forgotten her coat. She whirled around and hurried to the couch, finally remembering her visitor, who was now wide awake and looking back at her with curious chocolate-brown eyes.

"Going somewhere...?" he asked, smirking, as if enjoying his own private joke.

----------------

Megumi had to give her bodyguard some credit; he really had tried to get dressed quickly. On a normal day, having someone around who only took five minutes to get dressed would have been a blessing, especially after living with Kaoru, who despite her tom-boyish looks spent twenty minutes on her hair alone. But not this morning, not when she was already thirty-five minutes late.

She had sat there, waiting...watching each minute tick away on the clock, her calm face hiding the panicky feeling overwhelming her on the inside.

And of course, as if this day couldn't get any worse, there had been a car accident, which had caused a ridiculous amount of traffic which she was stuck in now. Apparently, people couldn't drive past the crash without slowing down and staring for a while.

She finally gave up and shifted the car to Park, sighing in frustration. Her passenger seemed oblivious to the anger that seeped out of her pores and the glare she was directing at him.

Finally, as if sensing her eyes on him, he turned his face from the window and said, "Is something wrong?"

Megumi furrowed her eyebrows and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the seat.

"_What is it?" he had asked her last night, his eyes filled with concern, and for the first time in a _months_ she realized that she was afraid. Afraid because she didn't know what was going to happen to her in the future... Oh sure, she had felt the overwhelming fear constantly ever since the attacks had started, but before there had never been anyone to witness it, she could always pull up a strong face to fool people into believing that she was fine. _

_...and of all the people to witness her moment of weakness, it just had to be him._

She felt a little disgusted with herself now, thinking back of the way she had crumpled into his arms. She hated feeling weak...despised it whenever people felt sorry for her.

"Um...Megumi? You might want to drive; people are starting to honk,"

Feeling embarrassed once again - she seemed to end up that way a lot when she was around him - she shook her head, pushing back the memories from last night and put her car into drive.

When they finally made it to the hospital where she worked, she could feel all of the nurses staring at her. She sped up her walking pace and led him into her office, where she quickly closed the door behind them.

"Okay, this is how it's going to be," she confronted him before he even had a chance to take a seat. "You're going to stay in here until I come back to get you. There's water in the mini fridge over there." She began to walk over towards the door, as she closed the door she added as if an afterthought, "Don't touch anything."

As he watched the door close behind her Sano wondered how he ever got **so lucky**, to end up with her as a client...

_Well, at least I'm getting paid..._

----------------

As Megumi walked down the hallway to her first patient, she could feel numerous pairs of eyes following her, but every time she turned around to face them, they always seemed to be occupied with their work..._as if!_

Finally, Megumi pulled over one of the aids, Tae, and asked her what was going on.

"Tae, why is everyone staring at me like I grew a second head?"

Tae looked very scared...but then again, Megumi wasn't known for bright and shiny mood. "Well, umm, you see...everyone's just kind of wondering about that man you came in with today..."

_Great, now they think I'm going out with him._

"Tell them, that maybe they should spend less time worrying about me and who I'm with, and more time doing their job," Megumi muttered, before proceeding to storm away, just barely remembering to put on a smile as she entered her patient's room.

It was a little girl, about four or five maybe, with deep brown eyes, and straight, jet-black hair that just reached her shoulders. She was decidedly cute, and the instant Megumi saw her, she could feel her mood lifting. Glancing at her clipboard, she found the little girl's first name, Saki Utani.

_Perhaps today won't be so bad after all..._

"Okay, Utani, I'm just going to listen to your heartbeat," she said as she rolled the stethoscope over in her hands to warm it a little. She presses it against the little girl's chest and listened to her heartbeat for a moment. "Sounds normal!" she beamed. She then straightened up, and began to flip through her clipboard. "It says here, that you're going to be getting some shots today."

She could see the fear filling up the little girl's eyes.

"Don't worry, it'll only feel like a little pinch," she said as she took an alcohol soaked cotton ball and rubbed it in a small circle on the little girl's arm. "Okay, I need you to look at that picture on the wall over there."

_People always seem to do better with shots they can't see..._

As she slid the needle into the girl's arm, Utani flinched, but didn't cry. "All done. See? That wasn't so bad. Here's a lollipop." She then walked over to the mother and said, "You can sign up for her next appointment at the front desk."

Unfortunately, most of her other patients weren't quite as pleasant, or as easy to please as her first. It seemed as if everyone in the hospital was conspiring against her. Every time she was about to sit down and take a break, another patient would come in who needed her assistance.

When her lunch break finally came, she felt that it hadn't come a moment too soon. She was about to walk out the door, but then remembered Sanosuke, and walked back towards her office.

_I wonder what he's been doing this whole time._

She stepped into her office to find it empty. She felt a little feeling of panic welling up inside her, but forced it back down, and went to the front desk to ask Tae if she had seen him.

She found her wheeling one of the patients to his room. "Tae, have you seen the man I was with this morning?" she asked.

Tae paused for a moment, and then answered, "Yeah, I saw him going that way just a minute ago."

She pointed down the hall in the opposite direction. Megumi ran down the hallway in the direction Tae pointed, and out of the corner of her eye spotted a large group of nurses to her left. Wondering what was so interesting, she walked up to the group, which began to clear out once they saw her coming, and found Sanosuke to be the cause of the disruption. She grabbed his arm and pulled him from the group of girls and right outside the hospital.

Once they were outside the doors, she turned around on him and whispered viciously, "What is wrong with you? Can't you see that you're distracting those idiots? I told you to stay in my office, why did you leave?"

Sanosuke stood before her, obviously confused by all the questions she had managed to ask in one breath.

"Well?" she said, while she tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for his answer.

"Ummm….can you say all that again, but slower?" he asked.

Megumi fought the urge to strangle him, yanking him along once more as she headed towards her car. "Never mind, we're going to lunch," she stated, venom dripping from her voice.

Fortunately, the ride to the local deli was a lot smoother. Once she had sat down and begun to eat her sandwich, she finally unwound from all the stress of the day.

"_Nice place you got here…" Sanosuke said when they entered the apartment. _

_After a few moments of silence he realized that Megumi had completely ignored his comment, and had left him to go to some room in the back. He sat down on the couch and waited for her to come back. Once she finally reemerged, he noticed that her face was all cleaned up, although her eyes were still a little puffy. _

"_Are you hungry?" she had asked him, and after awhile they had settled on pizza. She called some random place down the street and they sat in silence. _

_Finally, Sanosuke turned towards her and asked, "You're a doctor, right?"_

"_Yes…" she said, wondering why he was asking her such a random question._

"_Well, if you know that drugs are so dangerous..."_

"…are you going to eat those?"

"What?" Megumi asked.

"I said, are you going to eat those?" he asked, his outstretched hand indicating her French fries.

"Oh …umm, no," she said as she pushed her tray towards him, feeling embarrassed at how distracted she was today. This morning when she woke up, she had thought that this would be just another day, however, it was becoming anything but.

After lunch, the rest of the day seemed to glide by smoothly, probably because Sanosuke managed to stay out of her hair this time, as well as the fact that she was so busy that afternoon that she wasn't thinking much anyways.

Still, as she drove home, she couldn't help but wonder how things would turn out in the next couple of weeks…..

A/N: well, I finally updated….so um, don't forget to review and all that good stuff.


	4. In the palm of these hands

**Ch.4****: In the Palm of These Hands…..**

Megumi was feeling very annoyed as she walked to her job this morning. It seemed that ever since Sanosuke had moved in with her, her bad luck had increased exponentially. This morning Sanosuke had gone missing and then her car had conveniently broken down fifteen minutes before she had to go to work. She felt a little nervous walking down the streets alone.

_He wouldn't try to take me now…not when the streets are so crowded. _

She sighed as she made her way down the narrow streets towards the office.

**Someday**

Sanosuke sat in a bar listening to the chatter around him. He had gotten a tip that some of Kanryuu's men had been seen hanging around the joint recently, and he was just waiting for someone to have a little slip of the lip so that he could do a little "questioning." His body went rigid as he heard a man from one of the tables behind him mention Kanryuu.

He willed the man to speak a little louder so that he could hear the conversation. But he only heard snippets. "Night….Kanryuu….orders….Warehouse" Finally giving up he reclined back into the chair again and ordered some more sake. Trying to seem as nonchalant as possible he looked back over his shoulder at the man, in an attempt to etch his features into his mind.

_I might be able to get a little alone time with him just yet_ he thought as he watched the man walk into the bathroom and sauntered in slowly behind him.

**I want to**

Megumi had finally made it to the hospital. She hadn't realized it, but she had been holding her breath the entire way.

_As annoying as that rooster head is as least he offers me some form of protection _she paused there in the doorway for a moment wondering where he was, but her thoughts were soon interrupted as one of the nurses ran up to her with a clipboard. "Megumi" she said breathlessly, her face a little flushed "Your first patient is here, he's been sitting in the room for fifteen minutes now." Megumi sighed; life never seemed to pause for her, even when she needed it too. "Tell him I'll be there in a minute" She said as she made her way to her office, while looking down at the clipboard. From the symptoms that had been jotted down, it looked like a typical case of the flu.

_That's a relief. I might have a few moments to settle down after all _

The consultation was brief. It seemed he did have the flu. She prescribed him some medicine and escorted him to the door a little briskly. Then made her way to her office to relax until her next appointment.

**Protect You**

"Tell me everything you know" Sanosuke shouted at the man again as he punched him in the face. He didn't want to knock the man unconscious, but he couldn't help but feel a little frustrated at the fact that he wasn't getting any information out of the guy.

"I don't know nothing" The man said as he tried once more to squirm his way out of Sannosuke's grasp.

Sanosuke punched him even harder this time really knocking him out. He let go of the man and watched him slump to the floor. Kicking him in the side for good measure he walked over to the sink to wash his hand, and only then did he realize that some of the blood was his own. Actually, now that the adrenaline was wearing off he was beginning to feel the effects of those punches too.

**From Anything**

There was a knock on the door of her office. "Megumi?" one of the nurses nervously poked her head in.

"Yes" she said trying to sound professional, as if she really hadn't just been caught dozing off at her desk.

"We've been paging you for a few minutes now. There's a call waiting for you on line 1. They say it's a family emergency."

"Thank you, I'll take it from here" she murmured trying to hide the fear that was already spreading through her every limb.

Her hands nervously clutched the mouth peice, but she couldn't seem to pick it up. She knew that she didn't have any family, not anymore at least, which meant that it could only be one person…..Finally mustering all of the courage she could she put the phone to her ear and said.

"Hello"

**And Everything**

_They had noticed from a young age that he was much stronger than all the other boys and had sent him away to be trained in martial arts. He had been quite good at it actually. But in the recent years, it seemed that all of the fighting had taken a toll on his hands._

He looked down at them. Scarred from years of fighting. Bleeding a little now here and there.

_The doctors had told him to quit fighting so much before he did irreversible damage to his hands, but fighting was apart of him now. And that's what you do when you love something. You do it even if it leads you to your own destruction…… right?_

He turned off the faucet and headed towards the Medical Center. He needed to pay a certain doctor a visit.

**In the Palm of these hands**

Megumi sat the phone back down in it's cradle. It had been him. Kanryuu had people following her apparently. He had only spoken a single sentence but it was enough to strike fear deep down inside of her.

"_Megumi_…..._it isn't safe for a woman of your…_..._status to be walking all alone" _She sat back in her chair unsure of what to do. She had no way contacting Sanosuke, and there was no way she was going to walk home alone.

The phone beeped again. Nervously she picked up the phone again and sighed with relief when she realized that it was just one of the nurses.

"You have a patient waiting for you in room three" The nurse giggled a little as she hung up the phone. Megumi was a little confused. She didn't have an appointment scheduled for eleven o' clock.

_It must be a walk-in_ She grabbed her stethoscope as she walked out the door.

When she first walked through the door and got a look at her patient, she was flooded with a lot of mixed emotion. Anger, Confusion, Relief, Frustration, Fear? She finally settled on anger and slapped him in the face. The fact that he was still smirking didn't seem to help her mood at all.

"Oi fox! what'd you do that for?"

_Why did I do that _

Unable to find an answer, she ignored the question and leaned back against one of the counters in the room finally facing him again. "Why are you here, you don't look sick at all" she said as she looked him over. It was obvious that he had been drinking…..a lot. _So much for my bodyguard_.

"It's my hands" he said as he stretched them out towards her. She hadn't noticed them before seeing as he had been hiding them in his pocket. She took his hands in hers and studied them closely missing the blush that colored Sanosuke's cheeks when she did so. Turning them over one by one she studied the deep grazes. He had obviously used his hands a lot over the year.

"Where were you this morning?" she asked as she let go of his hands, and began searching for the bandages in one of the drawers.

"Taking care of business." He said nonchalantly. "Why did you miss me?" He raised one of his eyebrows at her.

She paused in her searching for a moment to glare back at him. "No, I'm asking because……He called me today….they're following me" She managed to whisper out. She finally found the bandages and waited for his response as she began wrapping his hands. He didn't answer her, so she paused before wrapping his left hand and met his gaze.

His eyes were distant and he seemed to be in deep thought. Finally the focus seemed to return to his eyes. "I'm sorry" he murmured. An awkward silence soon followed. She continued wrapping his left hand.

Sanosuke wasn't sure how it had happened, but somewhere down the line he had begun to develop feelings for her. But he knew that she would never be interested in a guy like him. He let his head hang a little.

"There, all finished" She let go of his hand and they just kind of looked at each other for a moment until Megumi finally cleared her throat and said "Ready for Lunch?"

"Actually…..I am." He nodded "I have a special place in mind"

A/N: well, sorry it took so long to update. College has been keeping me extra busy. But anyways ch.4 is finally up and hopefully ch.5 will be up sometime in the near future. Winter break anyone?


	5. Author's Note

Hello Dear Readers (If there are any of you left, lol.)

It has been a very long year for me:

Went to college-Decided to major in architecture- Didn't sleep for months-Lost my mind (trust me you'd lose your mind too if you didn't sleep for 50 hours straight every week)-Started failing classes-Got depressed-Had to change major-Got even more depressed- Lost my scholarships and had to transfer colleges-Went Suicidal (for awhile at least)-Trying to get better

But anywho, I'm better now and I think I'm up to writing again. Unfortunately I lost everything due to my harddrive meltdown and I only have a very, very broad idea of where the story was going when I left off. But I really want to continue even if it doesn't go down the same path that it was going down when I started.

SO:

-I really need you guys' help. If you have any ideas for upcoming chapters or what you'd like to see happen at the end don't be afraid to leave a comment or e-mail me.

-Also, I'm not sure if I have a beta-reader anymore due to my absence, so yeah…

And last but not least, thank you for the kind reviews and for being so patient and non-angry with me.


	6. Ch 5

A/N: I am naming this an untitled disaster because…

A/N: would you believe that I've had half of this chapter sitting around on my computer since January! I feel like such a creep. I didn't send it through beta-reading this time because I wanted it out a.s.a.p., but I'm hoping there won't be too many glaring errors.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own anything except for this pile of mush I'm trying to shape into a story…

A little re-cap to refresh your memory: Megumi's life is being threatened by mob boss Kanryuu due to her involvement with the police force who locked him away. Megumi meets Sano and they don't start off on such good terms, but as the days pass they begin to get to know each other better…

* * *

Ch. 5

_"There, all finished" She let go of his hand and they just kind of looked at each other for a moment until Megumi finally cleared her throat and said "Ready for Lunch?"_

_"Actually…I am." He nodded "I have a special place in mind"_

Megumi's POV

They made their way down the street, the awkward silence still floating around them. Megumi was a bit unnerve. _When had things gotten so complicated? Why were things becoming so awkward between them? Why did she…_

"We're here!" Sanosuke said as he opened the door sweeping his hand out in front of himself to lead her in. She looked up at the sign only to find that half of it was missing, she did however manage to make out the word "tea" the inside didn't look much better, it had definitely seen better days. As if sensing her hesitation, Sanosuke gave her a slight push, whispering "best tea in town."

They were soon seated at one of the shabby tables, Megumi looked around nervously, not because of the run-down appearance of the place….it was more so because of the man sitting across from her at the end of the table. She didn't have to look to know that he was gazing at her intently. She finally built up the courage to face him and cleared her throat.

"So…..you never did tell me how you injured your hand this morning…." she trailed off waiting for an answer.

Sanosuke smirked at her "Just taking care of business" he murmured suddenly looking away as if something interesting had just happened in a far off corner of the room, and Megumi found her own imaginary spectacle to stare at.

"Business…" she said wondering exactly what that entailed and how it ended up with his knuckles bleeding, "You know, you really should stop.." she paused trying to come up with the right words as she met his gaze "..doing 'business' that way. You're ruining your hands." She glanced down at them once again noting the rough surface.

"Megumi…"

At that moment a young girl walked up to their table. Her name tag indicated that her name was Tsubame and her eyes were filled with amusement as she watched as Sano and Megumi suddenly shift back into their seats. Megumi hadn't even realized that she and Sano had begun to lean into each other over the table.

"I see you brought a friend today Sano" she said smiling as she turned towards him. Sano cleared his throat clearly uncomfortable and ordered for them both. Megumi really didn't pay attention trying to figure out all of the thoughts that were running through her head at that moment.

--10 minutes later.

Lunch had been uncomfortably quiet after Tsubame left, leaving them anxious. Even the usually lady-like Megumi had uncharacteristically shoveled the food into her mouth anxious to get out of there and back to work.

"So…" Sano turned to face her as they finally reached the building where she worked. "Do you want me to stay, or would you rather I just returned when your shift ends?"

Megumi shuffled around slightly. _What do I want? _As badly as she would've liked to ask him to come back after she was done with work, the thoughts of being alone without him defenseless to anything that Kanryuu schemed up was just too scary for her to want to be there alone. "I think it would be better if you stay. You can sit in the lobby while you wait, okay?"

"Sure"

The day seemed to drag on at an unbearably slow pace. Megumi was ecstatic when her shift finally ended and she was finally able to walk out into lobby to get Sano. He was asleep in one of the chairs his head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees. Megumi slipped into the chair next to him and picked up a magazine on one of the tables deciding not to wake him up. As she was reading she couldn't help glance over the cover at the main beside her. She heard a rustling next to her and looked up to find him staring intently at her.

"You could've woken me up you know."

"I know. I just thought you might've needed your rest. It's been a long day after all. Ready to go?"

Without answering he stood up and held out a hand for her. She set the magazine she had been scanning over for the last 15 minutes in her chair as she let him help her up. As they walked out of the building it started to rain and she soon found herself running towards her car with Sano following not too far behind her. It seemed to occur in a split second. One of her heels had caught in a crack in the pavement sending her falling forward, but before her face could hit the pavement, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waste saving her from what she was certain would have been a painful and embarrassing experience.

"Th-thank you" she stuttered as she blushed, embarrassed by the sudden turn of events.

"Anytime" he winked at her causing her to blush even more. She quickly, yet carefully, ran over to her side of the car and jumped in. _Since when do I blush?_ Megumi was frustrated about the situation that she was finding herself in. How did he always manage to catch her at her worst moments? It was unsettling to have herself exposed that way all the time.

"Sano"

"On a first name basis now, are we" she shot a glare at him which he ignored as he responded again "Yes, Megumi"

"Tell me something…" she caught his eye once again "How did you end up as a fighter-for-hire?" Sano turned away from her and looked out the window. "I mean, you don't have to tell me anything. I was just wondering." He held up a finger still not looking in her direction, and she turned her eyes back onto the road awaiting his answer.


	7. Ch 6

"_Tell me something…" she caught his eye once again "How did you end up as a fighter-for-hire?" Sano turned away from her and looked out the window. "I mean, you don't have to tell me anything. I was just wondering." He held up a finger still not looking in her direction, and she turned her eyes back onto the road awaiting his answer._

--

Ch. 6

--

"I was a street urchin." He held her gaze for a moment before looking down again. "I got into a lot of trouble and was always getting into fights. Guess you could say that being a fighter-for-hire seemed like a natural choice…" he trailed off and Megumi got the feeling that he was leaving a lot out of his explanation, but decided not to say anything.

She finally turned into the parking garage near her apartment and they both stepped out, walking silently next to each other. She slid her key into the keyhole and opened the door starting to feel the effects of the day wearing down on her already. As the door swung open her eyes opened wide and her keys fell to the floor.

Sanosuke was quick, he picked up the keys off the floor, slamming the door shut before locking it again and grabbed Megumi's arm walking briskly back to the car.

"Do you know anywhere you could stay for the night" Megumi was taking deep breaths in the passenger seat, trying to control her panic. Where could she stay? There was no one really, and she wasn't quite ready to say that out loud so she just shook her head.

The quiet resumed for a moment until Sanosuke finally sighed and said "Okay then, we're going to my place and I'll get Aoshi to look at your apartment tonight." She nodded numbly.

Her apartment? No, they had destroyed everything in it beyond recognition; it wasn't her apartment anymore. "Should I start looking for somewhere to move?"

"That's probably a good idea, they know way too much about the apartment you're staying in right now." Megumi nodded knowing all too well how much they had infiltrated her life, the phone calls at work and at home, the threatening letters, and now finally the breaking into her home. Yes, they knew all about her. "We'll see what Aoshi has to say before we do anything rash." She nodded again still not really knowing what to say.

The building they drove up to was modest in size and looked as if it had seen much better days. "Home sweet home" Sanosuke muttered under his breath, and Megumi wondered if he had meant for her to hear it at all. They made their way inside Megumi noting that the inside was just as run-down as the outside. It seemed to be some kind of boarding house, and they took the stairs up to the third floor finally walking into his flat. It was small but cozy; there wasn't too much laying around so it was neat maybe even too neat, like he didn't really live there at all.

"You can take the bed tonight"

"What?" she turned around to face him her eyes wide. He grabbed her shoulders pushing her to one of the doors.

"It would be rude for me to have you sleeping on the couch, you can sleep in my bed tonight" Megumi tried not to think of the connotations of that.

"Okay" she finally murmured not really feeling up to a fight tonight.

Sanosuke must've noticed. "Well, that was easier than I thought it was going to be" his lips turning up into a smirk.

"Rooster head" she pulled away from his grasp taking a look at the room in front of her. It was empty just like the rest of the apartment and brought up the question once again if he really lived here at all. Then again, he had been spending the night at her place recently, who's to say he didn't stay at all of his client's homes? But he wasn't usually a bodyguard…maybe he just had a thing against clutter?

She took a shower reveling in the heat of the water before finally climbing into the bed. It was comfortable enough, but Megumi found herself still tossing and turning an hour later. Giving up on the possibility of sleep she walked back out into the living room to find Sanosuke asleep on the couch. The tv was still on as if he had fallen asleep while watching it. Deciding to turn off the tv, Megumi reached over to take the remote control out of his hand.

Suddenly she found herself grabbed roughly and pinned down to the couch with Sanosuke hovering over her, his eyes wild.

"Shit. What the hell were you thinking?" He let go of her and watched as she sat up.

"Oh, I don't know maybe I was thinking about the environment or about how much I would be saving you on your bills next month." She narrowed her eyes "Sorry I didn't know you were such a light sleeper."

"When you do my job you have to be." His eyes were level with hers now "I thought you would have realized that after tonight" he said that part low almost as if he was speaking to himself.

Megumi reclined back on the couch yawning. "I couldn't sleep"

"So you decided to ruin mine" he raised an eyebrow and she smacked him in the back of his head.

"No, that was just a series of unfortunate events"

"I see, maybe you should get back into bed then." He held up a hand signaling her towards the door.

Megumi pressed her lips into a thin line….here comes the hard part. She took a deep breath before finally saying "will you stay with me" all in one breath, as one word, and as low as possible.

The silence that followed was deafening. Megumi felt as if she was under a microscope and she began to wish that she had not said anything at all. He eyes were downcast; she couldn't quite build up the courage to meet his.

"Okay" they both got up, not really saying anything and not wanting to address how awkward this situation really was.

Megumi sat back in the bed and watched as Sanosuke dragged in a chair and sat across from the bed in a corner of the room. She really wanted to tell him that he could take the bed, or sleep in there with her, but she wasn't quite ready yet for all that that might lead up to. So instead she lay there quietly feeling his eyes burning a hole into her back as she pretended to sleep.

Megumi knew how to fight with Sanosuke and she knew how to be annoyed by him. Really there was only one thing that she couldn't quite master; she just hadn't quite figured how to be civil, and who knew that it could be so hard?


	8. Ch 7

A/N: Seems like I go from one case of writer's block to another, eh? Well taba should be updated somewhat soon I have a few more kinks to work out…..

Thanks to all of the reviewers, you remind me not to be such a bum. 3

So, without further ado:

_Megumi knew how to fight with Sanosuke and she knew how to be annoyed by him. Really there was only one thing that she couldn't quite master; she just hadn't quite figured how to be civil, and who knew that it could be so hard?_

--

Ch. 7

--

The sun was beaming on the outside of Megumi's eyelids and, not for the first time, she regretted the rash (and entirely romanticized) decision to place her bed opposite the window so that she could wake up with the first rays of sun. She rolled over in the bed and began to wonder why her sheets were so scratchy. Something wasn't quite right, but she couldn't seem to open her eyes no matter how she willed them to. The last time they had been so uncooperative was the morning she woke up to find herself in Sanosuke's…..

_Sanosuke! _

That seemed to do the trick; her eyes popped open suddenly and the light hurt her eyes. She shook her head and scanned the room wildly as the events of last night came back to her.

_My Apartment…My stuff……My apartment…_

Megumi flopped back onto the bed and looked over at the now vacated chair in the corner. She couldn't help but wonder if Sanosuke had gotten any sleep last night. She had slept soundly despite everything that had happened…that had been happening. Sanosuke had always been there to protect her, to help her out when she needed him…Sanosuke…. sure he could be annoying, and confusing…..but sometimes…..

The door opened and Sano peeked his head in. "So sleeping beauty finally awakes." He smirked.

Megumi ignored his 'sleeping beauty' comment and called him a 'rooster head', scowling. Things were just easier this way and a part of her enjoyed this little game they played. Still, she couldn't help but notice the dark circles under his eyes, and how red they were, and how positively exhausted he looked.

"You know….sleep is very important….maybe you should get some rest" she suggested as she slid out of the bed and walked over to the door, grabbing both of his hands and pulling him forward. Satisfied that he was close enough where even he couldn't mess it up, she turned away from him and gave him a wink as she closed the door. He was shaking his head and she thought he might've uttered something about 'being in doctor mode'.

But, now that she was alone (for the most part anyways) she found herself gripped in fear once again by the memory of last night. Kanryuu was in her apartment; he had been hunting her down; he knew everything about her.

Would she ever be able to get away?

It was at these moments that Megumi felt her loneliness the most. Her life was being threatened and she was all alone. She sat down on the old, worn couch and drew her knees up to her chest. Kanryuu….she had trusted him, thought that he had loved her, how did things go so wrong?

And Sanosuke…..what did he want from her; what was he trying to gain? Then again he was just doing his job, right? Her cell phone rang and she flicked it open without even thinking.

"Megumi?" Her brown eyes went wide and he must've taken her silence as confirmation that it was her as he chuckled before continuing "I see you're on the run now. You can never get away from me, you know. You're mine, and I'll have you again soon." the line went dead and Megumi shivered as she closed it up and threw it across the room. Yet one more thing broken because of Kanryuu.

"Megumi?" he had come up behind her so softly she hadn't even realized he was there.

"Sorry I woke you"

"You're crying"

She reached up and caught a tear before it trickled down her face, "It appears I am."

He sat down beside her and stared at her intensely; he seemed to be studying her.

"Megumi?"

"Not now….please."

"Not now…" he repeated under his breath.

And the game began once again….

--

And so a few hours of awkward, tension-filled silence later. They were sitting on the couch enjoying take-out in awkward, tension-filled silence. She didn't really know what to say to him, everything seemed to end in a dead end.

"So…have you talked to Aoshi yet?"

"We're dropping by his office tomorrow." He didn't continue, she didn't know what to say to that so yet again the conversation died and they were left in silence once again.

"Have you talked to Kenshin or Kaoru lately?"

"No."

Megumi could feel the anger rising up inside of her as she watched Sanosuke drinking his tea and reading the paper. She snatched the paper out of his hand, rolled it up and smacked him on the back of his head with it. "Why are you being so difficult!?"

Sanosuke rubbed the back of his head and glared at her. "I'm being difficult?" he griped and grabbed the paper back.

"I'm sorry….I'm just on edge right now."

"I noticed" he smirked. She smacked him in the back of his head and jumped up to go to the bathroom.

Some things just never change…

* * *

A/N: Sorry, it's short I know, but my mind is everywhere else at the moment. (Ah the busy life of a procrastinator.) Let's think of this as a transition chapter ^_~


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